Andreas Scholl - Wayfaring Stranger - Folksongs

The German countertenor Andreas Scholl takes risks on his latest CD, Wayfaring Stranger, and not all of them pay off. It is a recording of 17 English-language folk songs, some of them very well known, such as "Down by the Salley Gardens" and "My Love Is Like a Red Red Rose". This is not usually a repertory tackled by classically trained singers who can sound prissy, but Scholls clear, plaintive alto with its rich low notes and gentle top range is quite a plausible vehicle. "Wild Mountain Thyme" evokes real sadness while "Barbara Allen" aches with unhappy love. A surprise awaits in the ballad "Henry Martin" as Scholl uses his rough, nondescript baritone to identify the hero. It is rather a jolt. At least it is good to know his voice has actually broken. In this song, too feminine endings in the lyric fall clumsily on stressed beats. Scholl does nothing to counter the infelicity--English, of course, is not his mother tongue. In the beautiful title track that opens the disc, he sings endearingly of a "why-farring straincher". The accompaniments for various combinations of chamber orchestra, lute, dulcimer and harp tend to be slushy, sentimental and over-fussy. The bass uncomfortably parallels the tune in "Salley Gardens" and would have won a big red line through it in old-fashioned harmony classes. Still, on the whole this is a worthwhile disc. Scholl clearly loves the songs which he sings with great tenderness and deserves credit for his courage even where the experiment fails.